How Long?
by sparra-music
Summary: One shot, B/B. Booth confesses his love and Bones says... you'll have to read to find out.


AN: This double-drabble really got out of control. Tell me what you think....

_**How Long?**_

Booth closed the door to Brennan's office and then approached her where she'd sat down on the edge of her desk. "Bones."

"Yes Booth?" She looked up at him expectantly.

He gently cupped her cheek, licked his lips, and then tenderly met her gaze. "I love you." He leaned forward to kiss her, but the shock of Bones' next words caused him to jerk backwards.

"I know."

"What? How?"

"I've known a long time." Bones was completely calm, stating this as if Booth dragged her away from other people to express his love every day.

"You've known I love you. For a long time." Booth's phrasing said the words were a statement, but his tone made them a question.

"Yes, Booth. I've known you love me almost as long as I've known you. Knowing how much you cared about me is part of what made me fall in love with you."

Booth had already opened his mouth to ask about the first part of that statement, but closed it at the last six words. "You love me? You're in love with me?"

"Yes."

"But you don't even believe in being in love. It's just some chemical reaction that goes away over time."

"Nope."

Seeley could only stare back at Brennan. How many years had she been saying the exact opposite of that?

Tempe read his expression and answered, "I used to believe that. But my own experiences have shown me that love does not have to fade away. Sometimes it grows over time, getting bigger and stronger and more intense." She gulped as she locked gazes with Seeley again. "Like ours. It started as friendship, but it's grown into so much more."

Seeley could not deny that.

"How long have you known?"

"That you cared about me? Since New Orleans."

"New Orleans? What, you mean the Benoit case? With the spikes through people's heads and the voodoo and your amnesia?" 

"Yes, New Orleans. When...

"Four years ago, New Orleans?"

"Yes, New Orleans. Four years ago. When I told you not to come, and you came anyways. The look on your face when you burst into the exam room-- anyone could see you cared about me. Why do you think the detective kept harping about our partnership and your involvement in the case? It wasn't that she didn't trust the government; it was that she didn't trust you to be objective. And she was right-- you wouldn't even consider the possibility of my guilt. And when they arrested me, you got the best lawyer you knew for me.

"But the thing that really gave you away was my mother's earring. My mother's earring should have been evidence, Booth. You saw it at the crime scene, you knew it was important evidence. But you took it anyway. You _stole_ _evidence_ to protect me." Brennan swallowed. "And then you cleaned it and gave it back to me, because you knew I loved my mother's earrings. That, more than anything else, showed me that you cared about me. Cared about me very much."

Temperance closed the space between them even further. "I had my suspicions before that-- like when you broke out of the hospital to come save me. But I wasn't sure then, because that could have just been your desire to protect me and an overgrown sense of duty. But after New Orleans, I was sure." Her hands moved from Booth's back to caress his hair and neck and pull his head down so that their eyes were only inches apart. "And our feelings for one another have only grown since then, Seeley. I've been waiting for you to say the words "I love you" for a long time."

Bones let go of his neck and grinned at him. "You still managed to surprise me, though. I never thought that once you worked up the courage to actually say the words out loud that you would be illogical enough to try to cover it up or take it back." Temperance chuckled. "That stupid 'in an atta-girl kind of way' qualification didn't fool me for a minute, you know."

"Then why'd you say it back?"

"Because sometimes, you have to go along with something. You have to let the other person win. And you seemed so unsure of yourself. I just wanted to take away some of the awkwardness." Tempe caressed Booth's face. "But I do love you, Seeley Booth. And not in some silly atta-boy kind of way. I love you deeply, passionately, illogically... I love you with my whole heart, Seeley, and I trust you not to break it." Tempe crossed the final few inches and kissed Seeley. It was a dam exploding. Every bit of love and longing that they both had felt over the past four and a half years came pouring out in the kiss.

When they finally broke apart, panting, Seeley rested his cheek against hers while continuing to draw invisible patterns on her back with his fingertips. "Just one more question then, baby." He drew back to be able to look into her eyes again. "If you love me, and knew four years ago that I loved you, why they hell did you freeze when I told you? I only added the atta-girl thing because I thought I had scared you."

Tempe chuckled again. "I told you, Seeley. You surprised me-- it was the timing-- the last thing I expected to come out of your mouth after the thing with the clown was that you loved me. And I admit, I probably did hesitate too long trying to decide why you were telling me _then_, of all times. And before I could really figure out what I wanted to do with that situation, Caroline was there."

"Oh." Seeley cupped her face again. "So you loved me then?"

"Yes," breathed Tempe. "I loved you before, and I loved you then, and I love you now, and I'm sure that I'll still love you tomorrow, and the day after, and the day after that..."

Booth decided that while this recital was nice, he'd rather be kissing the woman he loves. So he did. Passionately. At length.


End file.
